Method of forming film and apparatus thereof

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a film of a coating solution on a substrate includes steps of moving a coating solution discharge member relative to a substrate while a coating solution is being discharged from the coating solution discharge member to the surface of the substrate, and changing a discharge direction of the coating solution to an outer peripheral portion of the substrate to make the amount of application to the outer peripheral portion smaller than that to other portions. This can reduce the amount of application to the outer peripheral portion of the substrate, thereby making it possible to restrain protuberance of the coating solution at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate caused by surface tension. Consequently, a coating film which is uniform also at the outer peripheral portion on the substrate is formed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromthe prior Japanese Patent Application No. 11-328800, filed Nov. 18,1999, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of forming a film on asubstrate and an apparatus thereof.

In a photolithography process in the semiconductor device fabricationprocesses, for example, resist coating treatment in which a resistsolution is applied to the surface of a wafer to form a resist film,exposure processing in which the wafer is exposed in a pattern,developing treatment in which development is performed for the exposedwafer, and the like are performed to form a predetermined circuitpattern on the wafer.

At present, in the above-described resist coating treatment, a spincoating method is in the mainstream as a method of applying the resistsolution. According to the spin coating method, the resist solution isdischarged to the center of the wafer and the wafer is rotated. Thisallows the resist solution applied on the wafer to spread by centrifugalforce, whereby a uniform resist film can be formed over the entire faceof the wafer.

However, in the spin coating method, since the wafer is rotated at highspeed, a large amount of resist solution scatters from the peripheralportion of the wafer, resulting in a big waste of resist solution.Further, the apparatus is contaminated by the scatter of the resistsolution, bringing about harmful effects such as a need for cleaningfrequently.

Hence, instead of the spin coating method in which the wafer is rotated,a method, in which a nozzle for discharging the resist solution and thewafer move relative to each other to apply the resist solution, forexample, evenly on the wafer in lattice form, is conceivable.

However, in the case in which the resist solution is applied in themanner of the so-called single stroke, it is feared that the resistsolution applied at the peripheral portion of the wafer protrudes bysurface tension, with the result that a resist film is not uniformlyformed. When exposure is performed with the resist film protruding atthe peripheral portion, the peripheral portion becomes a defectiveportion which can not be used as products, whereby yieldscorrespondingly decrease.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is made in consideration of the above points andits object is to provide a film forming method, which basically employsa method of forming a film on a substrate by discharging a coatingsolution while a coating solution discharge member such as the aforesaidnozzle and a substrate such as a wafer move relative to each other, inwhich a uniform resist film is formed also at an outer peripheralportion of the substrate, and a film forming apparatus having the abovefunctions.

In the consideration of the above object, the method of the presentinvention is a method of forming a film of a coating solution on asubstrate through the use of a coating solution discharge member,comprising the steps of: moving the coating solution discharge memberrelative to the substrate while the coating solution is being dischargedfrom the coating solution discharge member to the surface of thesubstrate; and changing a discharge direction of the coating solution toan outer peripheral portion of the substrate to make the amount ofapplication to the outer peripheral portion smaller than that to otherportions.

Further, the apparatus of the present invention is a film formingapparatus for a substrate including a coating solution discharge memberfor discharging a coating solution to the substrate, comprising: coatingsolution suction means for sucking the coating solution discharged fromthe coating solution discharge member to an outer peripheral portion ofthe substrate before the coating solution reaches the substrate, thecoating solution discharge member being movable relative to thesubstrate while discharging the coating solution to the surface of thesubstrate.

The apparatus of the present invention may not include the suctionmeans, but the coating solution discharge member may be arranged suchthat a discharge direction of the coating solution to the outerperipheral portion of the substrate is changeable.

The apparatus of the present invention may have gas supply means forblowing a predetermined gas to the coating solution discharged from thecoating solution discharge member to the outer peripheral portion of thesubstrate before the coating solution reaches the substrate in place ofthe suction means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to change thedischarge direction of the coating solution to the outer peripheralportion of the substrate, thereby reducing the amount of application tothe outer peripheral portion of the substrate, so that it is possible torestrain protuberance of the coating solution at the outer peripheralportion of the substrate caused by surface tension. Consequently, auniform coating film is formed also at the outer peripheral portion onthe substrate, and thus a region on the substrate which can be used asproducts is increased in area to improve yields.

The discharge direction of the coating solution is changed only when thecoating solution discharge member moves from the inside to the outsideof the substrate to thereby cross the outer peripheral portion of thesubstrate or when it reversely moves from the outside to the inside ofthe substrate to thereby cross the outer peripheral portion of thesubstrate, whereby the discharge is performed, as a result, only whenthe coating solution discharge member moves in one direction, so thatthe amount of application to the outer peripheral portion of thesubstrate is reduced to half. Accordingly, protuberance at the outerperipheral portion is restrained to thereby improve yields. Moreover,the amount of application can be reduced correspondingly, resulting inreduced cost.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectsand advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means ofthe instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed outhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments ofthe invention, and together with the general description given above andthe detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an appearance of a coating and developingsystem including an apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developing system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating and developing system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a vertical cross section of a resistcoating unit according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a horizontal cross section of theresist coating unit according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing arrangement of a suction nozzle;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a coating path of a resistsolution in the resist coating unit according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the resistsolution discharged from a nozzle is sucked by the suction nozzle;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing another example of the resistsolution coating path;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing still another example of theresist solution coating path;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are explanatory views showing the difference in resistfilms due to the presence and absence of the suction nozzle;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of a vertical cross section of a resistcoating unit in the case of a different mask member being used;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of a horizontal cross section of theresist coating unit in the case of the different mask member being used;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of another embodiment including a nozzlecapable of changing its discharge direction; and

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of another embodiment in which a gassupply nozzle is attached to a nozzle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferable embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a coating and developing system 1including a resist coating unit according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is afront view of the coating and developing system 1, and FIG. 3 is a rearview of the coating and developing system 1.

The coating and developing system 1 has a configuration, as shown inFIG. 1, in which a cassette station 2 for carrying, for example, 25wafers W, as a unit of cassette, from/to the outside into/out of thecoating and developing system 1 and carrying the wafer W into/out of acassette C, a processing station 3 in which various kinds of processingand treatment units each for performing predetermined processing ortreatment for the wafers W one by one in coating and developing stepsare multi-tiered, and an interface section 4 for delivering the wafer Wto/from a light-exposure apparatus (not shown) provided adjacent to theprocessing station 3 are integrally connected.

In the cassette station 2, a plurality of cassettes C can be mounted atpredetermined positions on a cassette mounting table 5 which is amounting portion in a line in an X-direction (a vertical direction inFIG. 1). A wafer carrier 7 transportable in the direction of arrangementof the cassettes (the X-direction) and in the direction of arrangementof the wafers W housed in the cassette C (a Z-direction; a verticaldirection) is provided to be movable along a carrier guide 8 so as toselectively get access to each cassette C.

The wafer carrier 7 includes an alignment function of aligning the waferW. The wafer carrier 7 is configured to get access also to an extensionunit 32 included in a third processing unit group G3 on the processingstation 3 side as described later.

In the processing station 3, a main carrier unit 13 is provided at thecentral portion thereof, and various kinds of processing and treatmentunits are multi-tiered around the main carrier unit 13 to formprocessing unit groups. In the coating and developing system 1, fourprocessing unit groups G1, G2, G3, and G4 are arranged, the first andsecond processing unit groups G1 and G2 are disposed on the front sideof the coating and developing system 1, the third processing unit groupG3 is disposed adjacent to the cassette station 2, and the fourthprocessing unit group G4 is disposed adjacent to the interface section4. Further, a fifth processing unit group G5 shown by a broken line canbe additionally disposed on the rear side as an option.

In the first processing unit group G1, for example, as shown in FIG. 2,a resist coating unit 17 according to this embodiment and a developingunit 18 for supplying a developing solution to the wafer W to therebytreat it are two-tiered in order from the bottom. In the secondprocessing unit group G2, a resist coating unit 19 and a developing unit20 are similarly two-tiered in order from the bottom.

In the third processing unit group G3, for example, as shown in FIG. 3,a cooling unit 30 for cooling for the wafer W, an adhesion unit 31 forenhancing fixedness between a resist solution and the wafer W, anextension unit 32 for allowing the wafer to wait therein, prebakingunits 33 and 34 each for evaporating a solvent in the resist solution,postbaking units 35 and 36 each for performing heat treatment afterdeveloping treatment, and the like are, for example, seven-tiered inorder from the bottom.

In the fourth processing unit group G4, for example, a cooling unit 40,an extension and cooling unit 41 for allowing the wafer W mountedthereon to cool by itself, an extension unit 42, a cooling unit 43,post-exposure baking units 44 and 45 each for performing heat treatmentafter exposure processing, postbaking units 46 and 47, and the like are,for example, eight-tiered in order from the bottom.

A wafer carrier 50 is provided at the central portion of the interfacesection 4. The wafer carrier 50 is configured to be movable in theX-direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 1) and in the Z-direction(the vertical direction) and rotatable in a θ-direction (a direction ofrotation around a Z-axis) so as to get access to the extension andcooling unit 41 and the extension unit 42 included in the fourthprocessing unit group G4, a peripheral light-exposure unit 51, and thelight-exposure apparatus (not shown).

Next, the resist coating unit 17 will be explained in detail. As shownin FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a mounting table 61 for holding the wafer W underprocessing, for example, by sucking it, is provided in a casing 60. Themounting table 61 is vertically driven and further rotatable by means ofa drive mechanism 62. Moreover, an orientation flat portion or a notchportion of the wafer W is detected by an optical sensor (not shown), andthe wafer W is rotated to a predetermined position, whereby the wafer Wcan be aligned. The drive mechanism 62 itself is movable on a rail 63disposed in an X-direction (a vertical direction in the drawing) asshown in FIG. 5, so that the motion in the X-direction of the mountingtable 61 is controlled by a controller (not shown). It should be notedthat a cup 64, which surrounds the side and the lower part of themounting table 61, for collecting the resist solution dropped from thewafer W is attached to the mounting table 61.

As shown in FIG. 4, a nozzle 65 as a coating solution discharge memberfor supplying the resist solution to the wafer W is provided above themounting table 61. The nozzle 65 is held by a holding member 66, and theholding member 66 is movable on a rail 68 disposed in a Y-direction (thelateral direction in the drawing). The rail 68 is provided to be movablein the X-direction on two rails 69 arranged in the X-direction alongboth side walls of the casing 60. The motions of the rail 68 and theholding member 66 are controlled by the controller (not shown).Accordingly, the nozzle 65, of which the speed, the timing of motion,and the like are controlled by the controller (not shown), is movable inthe X- and Y-directions.

Further, two mask members 70 and 71 each for preventing the resistsolution from dropping off the wafer W are hung from the aforesaid rail68 to be individually movable with the nozzle 65 therebetween. The twomask members 70 and 71, which extend downward from the rail 68 and bendinward to face each other at positions upper than the wafer W mounted onthe mounting table 61, include horizontal portions 70 a and 71 arespectively. The horizontal portions 70 a and 71 a are made recessedform in cross section to receive the dropped resist solution so as toprevent the resist solution from scattering threreabout.

Moreover, the two mask members 70 and 71 are controlled in movement onthe rail 68 so as to be always located above both end portions of thewafer W with movement of the mounting table 61 with the wafer W mountedthereon in the X-direction. Accordingly, the mask members 70 and 71 arelocated above both end portions of the wafer W on the same X coordinatewith the nozzle 65 to block and receive the resist solution dischargedfrom the nozzle 65 to the outside of the wafer W at the horizontalportions 70 a and 71 a, thereby preventing contamination inside thecasing.

On the side faces of the horizontal portions 70 a and 71 a of theaforesaid two mask members 70 and 71, suction nozzles 72 and 73 each forsucking the resist solution discharged from the nozzle 65 to theperipheral portion of the wafer W are securely provided respectively asshown in FIG. 6. The suction nozzles 72 and 73 are slightly inside thetips of the horizontal portions 70 a and 71 a of the mask members 70 and71 in the range of 0.1 mm to 10 mm, and preferably, 1 mm to 5 mm, andthe directions thereof are set so that they can suck the resist solutiondischarged to a thickness of, for example, about 1 mm. Accordingly, thesuction nozzles 72 and 73 move in the X- and Y-directions with the maskmembers 70 and 71, suck the resist solution discharged from the nozzle65 at predetermined timing described later, and drain it through drainpipes 74.

The aforesaid nozzles 72 and 73 are securely provided on the side facesof the mask members 70 and 71, but they may be secured on the nozzle 65side and suck the resist solution immediately after discharged from thenozzle 65. However, it is preferable to secure the suction nozzles 72and 73 on the mask members 70 and 71 from the viewpoint of waste ofpower consumption since a heavy load is imposed on the drive mechanismof the nozzle 65 when the suction nozzles 72 and 73 are attached to thenozzle 65 which is forced to move at high speed. Alternatively, thesuction nozzles 72 and 73 may be independently hung from the rail 68 tosuck the resist solution discharged from the nozzle 65.

Next, the process of the wafer W in the resist coating unit 17configured as above will be explained with a series of processes of thecoating and developing treatment.

First, the wafer carrier 7 takes one unprocessed wafer W out of thecassette C and carries it into the adhesion unit 31 included in thethird processing unit group G3. The wafer W coated with an adhesionreinforcing agent such as HMDS in the adhesion unit 31 is carried to thecooling unit 30 by the main carrier unit 13 and cooled to apredetermined temperature. Thereafter, the wafer W is carried to theresist coating unit 17 or 19 according to this embodiment.

Next, the action of the wafer W in the resist coating unit 17 will beexplained in detail. First, the wafer W for which the prior treatmentshave been completed is carried into the resist coating unit 17 by themain carrier unit 13. Then, the wafer W is suction-held by the mountingtable 61, which has previously been raised by the drive mechanism 62 andwaited, and lowered by the drive mechanism 62 to stop at a predeterminedposition in the cup 64. Thereafter, the wafer W is rotated by the drivemechanism 62 to detect the notch portion of the wafer W by the opticalsensor (not shown) to align the wafer W at a predetermined position.

The wafer W for which alignment has been completed is moved on the rail63 to a predetermined coating start position with movement of the drivemechanism 62 by means of the controller (not shown). At this time, forexample, the nozzle 65 moves to the START point and waits there as shownin FIG. 7. Meanwhile, the nozzle 65 for discharging the resist solutionnormally moves along the rail 68 only in the Y-direction and waits at apredetermined position, and moves in the X-direction when the recipe forthe wafer W is changed.

Thereafter, when the application of the resist solution to the wafer Wis started, the nozzle 65 moves at a predetermined speed along the rail68 extending in the Y-direction while applying a constant amount of theresist solution (for example, an amount of the discharged solution being10 μm to 200 μm in diameter) onto the wafer W. When the nozzle 65crosses the peripheral portion of the wafer W to reach a position abovethe mask member 70, it temporarily stops. The wafer W is sent in theX-direction by the movement of the drive mechanism 62 by means of thecontroller (not shown) in this state, whereby the wafer W is slid by apredetermined distance. At this time, for example, the mask member 70 ismoved in the Y-direction so that the tip of the horizontal portion 70 athereof is always located above the wafer W slightly inside the endportion of the wafer W. Then, the resist solution is discharged whilethe nozzle 65 is again moved in the reverse direction. As has beendescribed, the nozzle 65 is temporarily stopped at turn end portionswhile reciprocating, and the wafer W is intermittently moved in theX-direction during the stop, whereby the resist solution is applied onthe entire face of the wafer W as shown in FIG. 7.

Further, during the above-described reciprocating movement, the resistsolution discharged from the nozzle 65 is sucked by the suction nozzles72 and 73 on the side faces of the mask members 70 and 71 when thenozzle 65 passes above the peripheral portions of the wafer W as shownin FIG. 8 to decrease the amount of the resist solution applied to theperipheral portion of the wafer W.

For example, the resist solution is sucked by the suction nozzle 72 whenthe nozzle 65 moves from the inside to the outside of the wafer W topass its peripheral portion (this is referred to as “a forward path”).Then, the fact that the nozzle 65 has stopped at a predeterminedposition P (shown in FIG. 7) above the mask member 70 is regarded as atrigger to turn the suction of the suction nozzle 72 OFF and the suctionnozzle 73 on the opposite side ON instead. Accordingly, when the nozzle65 turns and moves from the outside to the inside of the wafer W to passits peripheral portion (this is referred to as “a return path”), theresist solution is not sucked to be discharged as it is since thesuction nozzle 72 is OFF. Therefore, the amount of application to theperipheral portion of the wafer W is reduced to half as compared withthat in the case in which the resist solution is discharged on both theforward path and the return path. On the other hand, when the nozzle 65has reached a predetermined position Q (shown in FIG. 7) which is on theother side of the wafer W to stop, the stop of the nozzle 65 is regardedas a trigger to turn the suction nozzle 73 OFF and the suction nozzle 72ON this time. Consequently, the resist solution is sucked also at theperipheral portion of the wafer W on the mask member 71 side only on theforward path, whereby the amount of application is reduced to half. Thepoints where the suction operations are performed are shown here bycircular marks in FIG. 7.

It is also suitable that the aforesaid ON and OFF of the suction nozzles72 and 73 are reversed so that the resist solution is sucked only on theaforesaid return path and discharged on the forward path. When one ofthe two suction nozzles 72 and 73 is ON, the other is turned OFF asdescribed above, whereby the suction operation of the resist solutioncan be carried out through the use of an exceedingly simple controllercircuit, and additionally a low-cost controller circuit can be used,resulting in reduced cost. The resist solution sucked by the suctionnozzles 72 and 73 passes through the drain pipes 74 to be drained to theoutside of the resist coating unit 17. As a result, the resist solutionnever scatters thereabout.

As for the coating path of the resist solution, the wafer W is rotated,for example, 90 degrees after the application is performed through theaforesaid path as shown in FIG. 9 so that the resist solution may beapplied twice. Also in this case, the amount of application to theperipheral portion of the wafer W is adjusted by the suction nozzle 72or 73 as described above. In this way, it is also possible to apply theresist solution in the so-called lattice form.

Alternatively, the path may be made spiral form as shown in FIG. 10. Inthis case, the nozzle 65 is moved in the X-direction from the center ofthe wafer W while the wafer W is rotated at a low speed (for example, 20rpm to 30 rpm), for example, by the drive mechanism 62 to therebyperform the application. Also in this case, when the application ontothe wafer W proceeds and the nozzle 65 reaches a position above theperipheral portion of the wafer W, the discharged resist solution issucked by the suction nozzle 72 or 73 to reduce the amount ofapplication to the peripheral portion of the wafer W. In this case, ifcontrol is performed such that the suction amount is gradually increasedwith the suction nozzle 72 or 73 getting closer to the peripheralportion of the wafer W, uniformity is improved.

Thereafter, the wafer W for which the application of the resist solutionhas been completed is raised by the drive mechanism 62 similarly to thetime of carrying in, and is received by the main carrier unit 13.Subsequently, the wafer W is carried to the prebaking unit 33 or 34 bythe main carrier unit 13 to be dried. Thereafter, a series ofpredetermined processing and treatments such as exposure processing,developing treatment, and the like is performed in the processing andtreatment units, thereby completing the coating and developingtreatment.

As in this embodiment, the resist solution is applied while the nozzle65 is moved, and the resist solution discharged from the nozzle 65 tothe peripheral portion of the wafer W is sucked by the suction nozzles72 and 73. Consequently, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, it is possibleto reduce the amount of application to the peripheral portion of thewafer W to restrain protuberance of the resist solution at theperipheral portion of the wafer W caused by surface tension.Accordingly, the problem feared in the method of applying the resistsolution in the manner of the so-called single stroke is solved, withthe result that parts where the resist film has a predetermined filmthickness increase and the region of the wafer W capable of being usedas products increases correspondingly in area to improve yields.

In place of the aforesaid mask members 70 and 71, a mask member 81,which has the shape of a square plate and opens corresponding to thecoating area of the wafer W may be used here. The resist coating unit 80in this case is configured, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, such that themask member 81 is supported by supporting members 83 provided inside asquare cup 82 in parallel with the upper face of the wafer W. Further,suction nozzles 85 and 86 are attached to the rail 68 to be movable, andthe tips thereof are located above the peripheral portions of the waferW and below the nozzle 65. As in the aforesaid first embodiment, thesuction nozzles 85 and 86 are always located above the peripheralportion of the wafer W and suck the resist solution discharged from thenozzle 65 at predetermined timing. As a result, the amount ofapplication of the resist solution to the peripheral portion of thewafer W can be reduced to half, thereby restraining protuberance of theresist solution occurring at the peripheral portion of the wafer W.

In the aforesaid embodiment, the discharge amount is adjusted by suckingthe resist solution discharged from the nozzle 65 by means of thesuction nozzle 72 or the like, but the adjustment may be made bychanging the direction of the nozzle itself. In other words, as shown inFIG. 14, the direction of a nozzle 90 for discharging the resistsolution may be made changeable as a device for reducing the amount ofapplication of the resist solution to the peripheral portion of thewafer W. In this case, the nozzle 90 moves as has been described in thefirst embodiment and is directed to the outside of the wafer W as shownin FIG. 14 when the nozzle 90 passes above the peripheral portion of thewafer W to thereby reduce the amount of application to the peripheralportion of the wafer W. Here, it can be proposed that the timing ofchanging the direction of the nozzle 90 is set, for example, on one ofthe forward path and the return path as in the first embodiment. Thiscan reduce by half the amount of application to the peripheral portionof the wafer W to thereby restrain protuberance of the resist solutionat the peripheral portion of the wafer W as in the aforesaidembodiments.

Moreover, as another embodiment, it is also suitable that, for example,nitrogen gas, another inert gas, or the like is blown to the resistsolution discharged from the nozzle 65 to blow the resist solution offthe wafer W, thereby reducing the amount of application of the resistsolution to the peripheral portion of the wafer W. For example, as shownin FIG. 15, two gas supply nozzles 100 and 101 each for supplyingnitrogen gas are arranged with the nozzle 65 interposed therebetween onthe same X coordinate. When the nozzle 65 moves from the inside to theoutside of the wafer W as shown by the arrow in FIG. 15, gas is blownfrom the gas supply nozzle 100 to blow the resist solution dischargedfrom the nozzle 65 off to the outside, thereby reducing the amount ofapplication. Further, when the nozzle 65 moves in the oppositedirection, the resist solution is blown off by the gas supply nozzle 101to reduce the amount of application. The timing of blowing gas to theresist solution may be set at the time when the nozzle 65 passes abovethe peripheral portion of the wafer W on the forward path or the returnpath as in the first embodiment. This reduces the amount of applicationto the peripheral portion of the wafer W to thereby restrainprotuberance of the resist solution at the peripheral portion of thewafer W caused by surface tension.

The previously described embodiments are on the resist film formingapparatus for the wafer in the photolithography process in thesemiconductor wafer device fabrication processes, but the presentinvention is also applicable to a film forming apparatus for a substrateother than the semiconductor wafer, for example, an LCD substrate.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for forming a coating film on asubstrate, comprising: a support member configured to support thesubstrate; a coating solution discharge member configured to discharge acoating solution from above to the substrate supported by the supportmember, the coating film formed from the coating solution, the coatingsolution discharge member movable relative to the substrate whiledischarging the coating solution to the surface of the substrate; and acoating solution suction member configured to suck the coating solutiondischarged from the coating solution discharge member when the coatingsolution discharge member is positioned at an outer peripheral portionof the substrate, to control an amount of the coating solutiondischarged from the coating solution discharge member reaching the outerperipheral portion of the substrate.
 2. An apparatus according to claim1, wherein the coating solution discharge member is movable along afirst rail extending in a first direction, the coating solution suctionmember comprises a pair of coating solution suction members supported bythe first rail one on either side of the coating solution dischargemember, and the first rail is movable along a second rail extending in asecond direction perpendicular to the first direction.
 3. An apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the pair of coating solution suctionmembers are movable along the first rail and controlled to be positionedabove the outer peripheral portion of the substrate.
 4. An apparatusaccording to claim 3, further comprising a pair of mask memberssupported by the first rail one on either side of the coating solutiondischarge member, wherein the pair of mask members respectively compriseinward extending portions extending to positions above the outerperipheral portion of the substrate, and the pair of coating solutionsuction members are disposed adjacent to distal ends of the inwardextending portions.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein thepair of mask members are movable along the first rail and controlledsuch that the distal ends of the inward extending portions arepositioned above the outer peripheral portion of the substrate.
 6. Anapparatus according to claim 5, wherein the pair of coating solutionsuction members are respectively supported by the pair of mask members.7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating solutiondischarge members are moved across the outer peripheral portion of thesubstrate in forward and return paths, and the coating solution suctionmember is controlled to be turned on to suck the coating solution in oneof the forward and return paths, and to be turned off not to suck thecoating solution in the other of the forward and return paths.
 8. Anapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating solution comprises aresist solution.
 9. An apparatus for forming a coating film on asubstrate, comprising: a support member configured to support thesubstrate; and a coating solution discharge member configured todischarge a coating solution from above to the substrate supported bythe support member, the coating film formed from the coating solution,the coating solution discharge member being movable relative to thesubstrate while discharging the coating solution to the surface of thesubstrate, wherein the coating solution discharge member is configuredsuch that a discharge orientation of the coating solution is changeableto control an amount of the coating solution to be discharged outside anouter peripheral portion of the substrate when the coating solutiondischarge member is positioned above the outer peripheral portion of thesubstrate.
 10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the coatingsolution discharge member is movable along a first rail extending in afirst direction, and the first rail is movable along a second railextending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.11. An apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a pair ofmask members supported by the first rail one on either side of thecoating solution discharge member, wherein the pair of mask membersrespectively comprise inward extending portions extending to positionsabove the outer peripheral portion of the substrate, and the coatingsolution discharge member changes the discharge orientation of thecoating solution to discharge the coating solution onto thecorresponding one of the inward extending portions when the coatingsolution discharge member is positioned above the outer peripheralportion of the substrate.
 12. An apparatus according to claim 9, whereinthe coating solution discharge members is moved across the outerperipheral portion of the substrate in forward and return paths, and thecoating solution discharge member is controlled to change the dischargeorientation of the coating solution in only one of the forward andreturn paths to discharge the coating solution outside the outerperipheral portion of the substrate.
 13. An apparatus according to claim9, wherein the coating solution comprises a resist solution.
 14. Anapparatus for forming a coating film on a substrate, comprising: asupport member configured to support the substrate; a coating solutiondischarge member configured to discharge a coating solution from aboveto the substrate supported by the support member, the coating filmconfigured to be formed from the coating solution, the coating solutiondischarge member being movable relative to the substrate whiledischarging the coating solution to the surface of the substrate; and agas supply member configured to blow a predetermined gas to the coatingsolution discharged from the coating solution discharge member when thecoating solution discharge member is positioned at an outer peripheralportion of the substrate before the coating solution reaches thesubstrate, thereby controlling an amount of the coating solutiondeflected outside of the outer peripheral portion of the substrate. 15.An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the coating solutiondischarge member is movable along a first rail extending in a firstdirection, and the first rail is movable along a second rail extendingin a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
 16. Anapparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a pair of maskmembers supported by the first rail one an either side of the coatingsolution discharge member, wherein the pair of mask members respectivelycomprise inward extending portions extending to positions above theouter peripheral portion of the substrate, and the gas supply memberblows the predetermined gas to deflect the coating solution onto thecorresponding one of the inward extending portions when the coatingsolution discharge member is positioned above the outer peripheralportion of the substrate.
 17. An apparatus according to claim 14,wherein the coating solution discharge members is moved across the outerperipheral portion of the substrate in forward and return paths, and thegas supply member is controlled to blow the predetermined gas in onlyone of the forward and return paths to deflect the coating solutionoutside from the outer peripheral portion of the substrate.
 18. Anapparatus according to claim 14, wherein the coating solution comprisesa resist solution.